Big Ten standings, explained: Updated 2025 tiebreakers for Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, USC and Michigan

No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana appear on a collision course for the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 6. 

LIVE: Updated college football polls after Week 12

Will anybody have a chance to break that up? The Hoosiers have just one conference game remaining after a 31-7 victory against Wisconsin. The Buckeyes beat UCLA 48-10 and not have been challenged in Big Ten play yet. 

Three other Big Ten teams have one conference loss heading into the final two weeks. That list includes No. 8 Oregon, No. 17 USC and No. 18 Michigan. Those teams remain alive in the College Football Playoff hunt, but they won't be in the Big Ten championship game unless the Buckeyes or Hoosiers slip up. 

Here is a breakdown of the Big Ten race, with standings, tiebreakers, paths to the championship game and a look at the cumulative conference winning percentage for each of those contenders: 

MORE TIEBREAKERS: ACC | Big 12 | SEC

Big Ten football standings 2025

The Big Ten has five teams with two losses or less heading into Week 12. Here is a closer look at those standings:

Big Ten tiebreaker rules for 2025 

Step 2: Common conference opponents: "The tied teams will be compared based on record against all common conference opponents"

Step 3: Common conference opponents: "The tied teams will be compared based on record against common opponents with the best conference record and proceeding through the common conference opponents based on their order of finish within the conference standings."

Step 4: Cumulative conference winning percentage: "The tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents."

Step 5: SportsSource Analytics ranking: "The representative will be chosen based on the highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team Rating Score metric) following the regular season."

Step 6: Random draw: "The representative will be chosen by random draw among the tied teams conducted by the commissioner or designee."

MORE: Projecting the 2026 College Football Playoff bracket after Week 12

Big Ten contenders path to the championship game 

Indiana (11-0, 8-0)

Remaining schedule: at Purdue 

Indiana controls its own destiny, and a 31-7 victory against Wisconsin inched the Hoosiers one step closer to its first Big Ten championship game appearance. Indiana will be heavy favorites against Purdue in the regular-season finale after a bye week. 

Ohio State (10-0, 7-0) 

Remaining schedule: vs. Rutgers, at Michigan 

Ohio State beat UCLA 48-10 on Saturday. The Buckeyes also control their own destiny. Ohio State will be heavy favorites against Rutgers, but another loss to Michigan could keep Ohio State out of the Big Ten championship game. A loss to the Wolverines would open the door for either Oregon, USC or Michigan to make the Big Ten championship game. 

Oregon (9-1, 6-1) 

Remaining schedule: vs. USC, at Washington 

Oregon routed Minnesota 42-13 on Friday. The Ducks will have a hard time bypassing Indiana in the standings. Oregon's best bet to repeat as Big Ten champions would be to win out and have Michigan upset Ohio State in the regular-season finale. In that event, Oregon and Indiana would meet in a rematch from their regular-season matchup. 

USC (8-2, 6-1) 

Remaining schedule: at Oregon, vs. UCLA

The Trojans beat Iowa 26-21. USC needs to win out and have Michigan beat Ohio State in the regular-season finale. That is a better path than having Ohio State win out and Indiana lose a game – because the Hoosiers beat Illinois – a common opponent with USC. The Trojans lost 32-31 to Illinois on Sept. 27. 

Michigan (8-2, 6-1) 

Remaining schedule: at Maryland, vs. Ohio State 

Michigan escaped with a 24-22 victory against Northwestern in Week 12. The Wolverines need to win out to have a chance to make it to Indianapolis – and that will require a fifth straight victory against the rival Buckeyes in the regular-season finale on Nov. 29. Even if Michigan beats the Buckeyes, they need either USC and Indiana to both lose in the final three weeks or an Indiana loss and a USC victory against Oregon.

Big Ten chaos scenario 

What happens if four teams finish 8-1 in conference play – a scenario that would require Michigan to beat Ohio State, Indiana to lose to Purdue and USC to beat Oregon? If all of that happens, then as of now with cumulative conference winning percentage as the key metric, USC and Michigan would play in the Big Ten championship game.

Big Ten common opponents tracker for 2025

Here is a look at the common opponents for all the Big Ten teams with two losses or less. We added the cumulative conference winning percentage – the fourth Big Ten tiebreaker – to show which teams are in the best position heading into Week 12: 

Most likely Big Ten championship game scenario

Indiana has the easiest path to the Big Ten championship game – and it would take a huge upset from Purdue to knock the Hoosiers out at this point. We'll pencil Indiana into one of those spots. 

If Oregon beats USC, then the Trojans are out of the mix. 

Ohio State is our pick to play Indiana, and what a blockbuster Big Ten championship game that would be with the Heisman Trophy in the fold with top candidates Julian Sayin, Fernando Mendoza and Jeremiah Smith. Of course, the Buckeyes have to break that losing streak to Michigan.

We'll stick with the Buckeyes and Hoosiers for now – and that would be a potential Game of the Century between No. 1 and No. 2 before the College Football Playoff even starts.